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I would worry more about the cleaning solutions we used to use, or burned refrigerant (oil), than clean R22 for example. I know many old timers that died with heart disease, maybe caused by blowing the refrigerant off or maybe it was that most were smoker's.

If it is bad for you then I am a dead man! We used to cut the tubing at the end of the filter drier and let the whole charge go. Back in the 70's everything was propelled with R12, deodorant, pledge, window cleaner, Lysol, even my asthma inhaler propellent was R12. And it was a great solvent! They sold it in a spray can as TV tuner cleaner! Great for cleaning electrical contacts. I miss R12!

Started early 80's when it didn't matter where the gas flew. Never smoked myself but I did see guys light up a cigarette in a compressor room where the blown off gas didn't have time to completely clear. Sucking R12/R22/R502 thru cigarette = Phosgene. You could even smell it standing too close. I'm still kicking, not as hard as when I knew everything but hard enuf to keep working and playing.

Started early 80's when it didn't matter where the gas flew. Never smoked myself but I did see guys light up a cigarette in a compressor room where the blown off gas didn't have time to completely clear. Sucking R12/R22/R502 thru cigarette = Phosgene. You could even smell it standing too close. I'm still kicking, not as hard as when I knew everything but hard enuf to keep working and playing.

"I love the smell of phosgene in the morning"

If you really know how it works, you have an execellent chance of fixin' er up!

Maybe is the other way around and breathing fumes and refrigerant would make us live forever
trying to be positive, it cant be all that bad, there has to be some good stuff hidden in some of the chemicals.

I havent heard that it can cause cancer. But it honestly wouldn't surprise if it does. I heard 410a can give you a heart attack if you breathe to much in.
Now this talks about CFC's but I couldnt find much on HCFC's.

Tests of R-123 indicate that it has very low acute inhalation toxicity, as measured by the concentration that causes 50% mortality in experimental animals, a 4-hour LC50 of 32,000 ppm in rats. A cardiac sensitization response was observed at approximately 20,000 ppm. This response was measured in experimental screening with dogs, with simultaneous injection of epinephrine to simulate human stress reactions. Anesthetic-like effects (e.g., weakness, disorientation, or incoordination) were observed at concentrations greater than 5,000 ppm, or 0.5%. R-123 has very low dermal toxicity (by skin application) and is only a mild eye irritant. Long-term inhalation caused an increase in the incidence of benign tumors in the liver, pancreas, and testis of rats. None of the tumors attributable to the exposures were malignant or life-threatening; all occurred near the end of the study, late in the lives of the test specimens. The exposed animals actually exhibited higher survival rates at the end of testing than those in the control group. The rats exposed to higher concentrations also experienced slight reductions in body weight and decreases in cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Studies are continuing to investigate the biological relevance of the tumors to humans. The tests completed to date indicate that R-123 is neither a developmental toxicant nor a genotoxin."

Tests of R-123 indicate that it has very low acute inhalation toxicity, as measured by the concentration that causes 50% mortality in experimental animals, a 4-hour LC50 of 32,000 ppm in rats. A cardiac sensitization response was observed at approximately 20,000 ppm. This response was measured in experimental screening with dogs, with simultaneous injection of epinephrine to simulate human stress reactions. Anesthetic-like effects (e.g., weakness, disorientation, or incoordination) were observed at concentrations greater than 5,000 ppm, or 0.5%. R-123 has very low dermal toxicity (by skin application) and is only a mild eye irritant. Long-term inhalation caused an increase in the incidence of benign tumors in the liver, pancreas, and testis of rats. None of the tumors attributable to the exposures were malignant or life-threatening; all occurred near the end of the study, late in the lives of the test specimens. The exposed animals actually exhibited higher survival rates at the end of testing than those in the control group. The rats exposed to higher concentrations also experienced slight reductions in body weight and decreases in cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Studies are continuing to investigate the biological relevance of the tumors to humans. The tests completed to date indicate that R-123 is neither a developmental toxicant nor a genotoxin."